Today is Bangabandhu’s Historic Homecoming Day
Today marks the 55th Homecoming Day of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On January 10, 1972, Bangabandhu was released from imprisonment in a Pakistani jail and set foot on the blood-soaked soil of Bengal. His return to independent Bangladesh completed the victory of the struggle for independence. Bangabandhu himself described this homecoming as a “journey from darkness to light.”
On the night of March 25, 1971, Pakistani occupying forces arrested the undisputed leader of the Bengalis, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, from his residence at Road No. 32, Dhanmondi, and took him away. He was imprisoned in a Pakistani jail. While the Bengali nation was fighting for independence, Bangabandhu was counting the moments of death as a condemned prisoner facing the gallows through a sham trial in a Pakistani prison. After the Bengalis achieved their final victory on December 16, 1971, world leaders became vocal in demanding Bangabandhu’s release. Under international pressure, the defeated Pakistani ruling clique was ultimately forced to release Bangabandhu with due honor. After counting each moment under the shadow of death for 290 days in a Pakistani prison, he arrived in Dhaka on January 10, 1972, via London and Delhi.
On this day, Bangabandhu returned to independent Bangladesh wearing the garland of victory. The entire country was in a festive mood. The whole Bengali nation waited with bated breath to see when their beloved leader would arrive on the soil of the independent country. Millions of people gathered in the Dhaka airport area that day. The road from the airport to the historic Racecourse Maidan (now Suhrawardy Udyan) was filled with people. Upon stepping onto the soil of independent Bangladesh, Bangabandhu became overwhelmed with emotion. Hearing the news of genocide committed by the Pakistani occupying forces and their local collaborators during the long nine months, he broke down in tears. On that day, upon getting back their beloved leader, seven and a half crore Bengalis were soaked in tears of joy and filled the sky and air of Bengal with the slogans “Joy Bangla, Joy Bangabandhu.” Standing at Suhrawardy Udyan that day, Sheikh Mujib said, “I did not know whether I would ever be able to return to this Bengal that I love so much, to the people I love so much, to the nation I love so much. Today I have returned to Bengal—to my brothers, mothers, and sisters of Bengal. Bengal is mine, Bangladesh is free today.”
January 10, 1972, is a special milestone in the continuous history of the great Liberation War. Through the partition of the subcontinent in 1947 based on the flawed Two-Nation Theory, the Pakistani ruling class once again bound the people of East Bengal in the chains of subjugation. Under the undisputed leadership of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the Bengali nation built an indomitable resistance against the Pakistani rulers through a long course of movements and struggles. Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman inspired the Bengali nation with the mantra of liberation and led them forward on the path of the independence movement and the Liberation War.
Bangabandhu’s homecoming ignited a radiant flame of inspiration in the hearts of the war-ravaged, newly independent Bengali nation. Bangabandhu’s homecoming was described as a “journey from darkness to light.” Since then, Bangabandhu’s historic Homecoming Day has been observed every year.
